


Going home

by Castilian



Series: Whumptober 2019 [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Gen, Hurt Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Injury, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 06:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20849336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castilian/pseuds/Castilian
Summary: After a failed hunt, Arthur and Merlin have a long way home.





	Going home

**Author's Note:**

> For prompt nº 1 from the Whumptober list at Tumblr: Shaky hands.

Step after painful step, they kept moving. The sun had not gone down yet but surrounded by trees they walked in semi-darkness. Arthur knew they would never reach Camelot before nightfall, but at least they would be closer to home.  
“How’s your leg?”

Arthur looked at the dirty bandage Merlin had managed with their torn shirts.

“Not bad,” he said. “And your ribs?”

“Same.”

It was a lie, Arthur knew, as had been his words. 

There was no point in complaining. They were hurt, but without supplies, nothing could be done. And they had lost the horses too. 

_What a stupid way to end the day_, Arthur thought. __

_ _And much to his shame, it was his fault. It had been his idea to go hunting just the two of them. He had been the one who had chased the boar without adequate equipment. Arthur knew how foolish he had been, and that hurt even more than his injured leg._ _

_ _A glance to Merlin redoubled Arthur’s guilt. Arthur did not know how it had happened. He had let his manservant taking care of the horses and had tried to lure the beast out of its hiding spot. One moment Arthur had been on his feet and the next the boar was attacking him. Merlin could not explain how he had managed to scare the animal away before it had time to maim Arthur. The prince’s only injury was a nasty cut through his right thigh. And somehow, Merlin had ended with some bruised ribs when trying to rein in the scared horses. _ _

_ _“I should check your bandage,” said Merlin, but Arthur shook his head. “It could get infected.”_ _

_ _“There’s nothing you can do right now Merlin. We have to keep going. We’ll not reach Camelot today, but with some luck, there’s some search patrol looking for us”._ _

_ _“You should rest at least,” pressed Merlin and when Arthur was again to say no, he stopped._ _

_ _Arthur’s leg throbbed terribly with every step, so much that at times he just wanted to scream. And the blood loss had left him light-headed. But Merlin looked worst, pale and gasping with every step. And he had not complained even once._ _

_ _“I think there’s a stream nearby. We can rest there,” conceded Arthur._ _

_ _By the time they reached the water, the night had fallen. _ _

_ _With nothing to catch the water, Arthur laid down and drank directly from the stream. He was exhausted._ _

_ _“Come on Merlin, or is this too undignified for you?” teased Arthur when he was finished and Merlin had made no move to drink._ _

_ _“Well, some of us were raised with manners, sire.”_ _

_ _“Sure,” said Arthur, too tired to keep on bantering and dragged himself to rest against a tree._ _

_ _Soon it was clear why Merlin was not drinking. He was in too much pain to bend and drink as Arthur had been done._ _

_ _“Here, let me help you.”_ _

_ _Ignoring Merlin’s incredulous look, Arthur took some water in his hands and offered it to Merlin. After a little hesitation, Merlin began to drink. Arthur’s hands trembled so much that almost all the water fell, forcing him to repeat the process several times._ _

_ _“Thank you, Arthur,” said Merlin softly._ _

_ _“Don’t mention it.” _ _

_ _Without more words, they huddled together to keep warm and prepared themselves to pass the night. At least they had each other._ _


End file.
